Northern Lights on Food - New Theme at LINXS!
LINXS Food Theme Illustrations: food’s way from farm to fork. Illustration.
Selma Maric, Business and Industry Coordinator at MAX IV. Photo: Emelie Hilner.
LINXS is delighted to announce a new theme: Northern Lights on Food. It will run from August 2021 to June 2024 and gathers a range of national and international researchers and industry representatives within five working groups.
– Through this theme, we aim to have an impact on the design of instruments and development of neutron and x-ray techniques, advance data analysis methods to fit food-specific research questions, and begin to educate a new generation of food scientists and technical experts, says theme leader Selma Maric, Business and Industry Coordinator at MAX IV.
The theme will bring together expertise in food science and technology with experts in characterisation methods using neutrons and x-rays. This includes the whole food chain from farm to fork and beyond. It will also work closely with industry to help advance the applied aspects of food science.
Selma Maric explains that the theme is the continuation of work already started in the working group on food under the Imaging theme. With their own theme, solely dedicated to food, they are now able to expand the research focus, and to connect more researchers to the work.
Five working groups – joined by focus on health
The theme is divided into five working groups. 1. Structures of Food Raw Materials. 2. Food Colloids and Structured Interfaces. 3. Structure of Food during Processing. 4. Food Interactions on Surfaces. 5. Food and Health – which runs across all the working groups.
– The questions connected to food are endless! The fact that we now have these five separate but yet interlinked working groups allow us to have specific yet broad discussions on different food topics in relation to x-ray and neutron techniques, says Selma Maric.
X-rays and neutrons are key to develop food science
Professor Milena Corredig, from Aarhus University, is a core member in the new theme.
Professor Milena Corredig, Professor at Aarhus University.
She emphasises that the use of x-rays and neutrons are absolutely key to advance food science and our experience of food overall:
– The physics of food materials is complex and requires an understanding of the interactions in a multiphase system at various length scales, and often it is not clear which length scale is critical to delivering the appropriate quality and functionality. The use of x-ray and neutron allows us to observe in situ, under relevant research environments, the effect of the interactions during processing, for example, and test hypotheses that will unravel mechanisms in systems currently only known at an empirical level.
Professor Anna Ström, from Chalmers University of Technology, another core member adds:
Anna Ström, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology.
– Visualising contaminations through the use of x-rays and neutrons, for example heavy metals, can lead to increased and more efficient use of food. Increased protein and polysaccharides understanding is important for novel ingredients and is required throughout the protein shift. Improved understanding of ingredients throughout the food systems, also side streams, has the possibility to upgrade ingredients that are not edible today.
Patricia Lopez-Sanchez from Chalmers University of Technology further adds that understanding the action of enzymes on cell walls will ultimately lead to more efficient processes.
Develop a system knowledge of food
Taking food knowledge from the empirical level to the systems-level is currently one of the most important next steps when it comes to food explains the researchers. Today, we might know WHAT happens in food products, but we often do not know WHY. This knowledge gap is a great barrier to developing new food products, made out of vegetable or lab-made proteins, that might not have been used for human consumption before.
– By studying structures and processes at such high resolution we will learn more about how protein, lipids and vitamins behave so that we can mimic and improve food types such as milk or meat and make their processing more sustainable or even replace them with plant based alternatives that are tasty. This is important in terms of making our food more sustainable and decrease emissions related to food production, says Selma Maric.
Nutritious, safe and affordable food
Yet, the challenges related to food also include the need for more nutritious, safe and affordable food – to feed a growing global population. Our eating habits are ranked as the main risk factor for ill health and early death in Sweden, in addition to tobacco - and there is an urgency to develop foods with less fat, sugar and salt. Overcoming waste within the food sector is also a pressing issue since with less waste, we would need to use less produce to feed the same amount of people.
– We believe that x-ray and neutron techniques can help us in solving some of these challenges. Maybe they won’t be solved tomorrow, but without a dedicated research effort, we will fall acutely behind in the development of this research area. If you look at medicine and drug development, these techniques are already well established, says Milena Corredig.
Grow a community and engage industry
The research theme will also work actively to grow a community within food – existing of both academics and industry representatives. Industry participation is crucial since it is industry that drives change at large scale level.
During the theme duration, both research discussions and more applied research will take place – with a specific aim to identify and apply for large international research grants that will allow the theme and its connected researchers to grow their effort and engage new users of x-rays and neutrons in the area of food.
– One can see our theme as the start of something that will in time inspire others. Personally, I would like to share methodologies and approaches and engage with a community interested in similar research problems. We would like to learn from each other, says Milena Corredig.
Selma Maric, Anna Ström och Milena Corredig conclude:
– We also like to hear how others are working, and work to encourage other academics and researchers to expand their knowledge using such powerful tools. A big part is also to share knowledge and educate people in food on the infrastructures, experiments and tools available at large scale research infrastructures.
“To preserve the quality of the food and ensure that it comes in good condition all the way from farm to fork, food packaging fulfills an important function. The main role of packaging in protecting its contents is essential for safe food and reduced food waste. With a large variety of packaging materials and not least with many new bio-based packaging materials, we need to better understand what happens in the surface interactions between packaging and food, so that we can develop safe packaging that lasts all the way forward.”
Annika Olsson, Dean at Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University.
About the theme:
The research theme Northern Lights on Food brings together researchers from Lund University, ESS, Chalmers University of Technology, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, RISE, Aarhus University, and Copenhagen University as well as international researchers, and Swedish companies.